Variable bend for use with gun and gun attached with the same

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a variable bend that allows a cheek rest to be accurately adjusted and to be firmly fixed to a gunstock without impairing the gunstock. A pad base is fixed between a rear-end face of the stock and a shoulder pad. A bend frame is fixed to the stock by plastically deforming a joint portion in conformity with a shape of an upper part of the stock, by adhering the joint portion with the upper part of the stock and by fixing an attachment plate to a coupling portion of the pad base. Then, the cheek piece is vertically adjustably fixed to the bend frame.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the foreign priority benefit under Title 35,United States Code, §119 (a)-(d) of Japanese Patent Application No.2009-038314, filed on Feb. 20, 2009 in the Japan Patent Office, thedisclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gun for use in shooting matches andhunting and more specifically to a variable bend attached to a gunstockso as to fit in resting one's cheek, a variable bend suitably applied toa gun attached with a high rib and to a gun attached with the variablebend.

2. Description of Related Art

Fighting in shooting in cases of using sporting guns (trap, skeet,double-trap and others), hunting guns and shotguns in particular is setin a moment, so that it is important how a marksman can rest his cheekand shoulder against the gun when the marksman takes a shooting positionin order to be able to naturally adjust on a shooting line. Althougheach marksman has a different physical frame, a different face, adifferent habit and a different preference in taking a shootingposition, a gunstock of an ordinary ready-made gun is made in aso-called standardized size that is a greatest common denominator ofusers.

By the way, a gun sight has been widened lately and a high rib has cometo be used as what functions advantageously for sporting guns such as agun for clay shooting in particular. Among the high ribs, there is evenproposed a high rib that is attached afterward to a normal rib.

Conventionally, there is proposed a gunstock in which an upper part ofthe gunstock is cut and a cheek piece or a cheek piece integrated with ashoulder pad is vertically movably and fixably attached to the cut partas disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. H05-215498and H08-121994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,553 for example. Still more,there is proposed a gunstock in which a recess is formed in a rear-endthereof, a slider having a shoulder pad is engaged vertically movablywith a slider receiver and a stock-end plate including the shoulder padthe slider is attached to the stock by screws as disclosed in JapanesePatent Application Laid-open No. 2003-322497 for example.

However, those guns described above require to cut the upper part and/orrear-end face part of the stock and to work upon the cut parts in orderto attach the cheek piece (cheek rest), the cheek piece and the shoulderpad or the shoulder pad to the stock. That is, the gun is customized fora specific marksman or game and the gun cannot be returned to itsoriginal shape once it is worked upon. Therefore, such a gun is usedexclusively for the individual (user) and a commercial value of the gundrops. Still more, such a gun spreads only among a few numbers ofplayers due to an emotional hesitation that the precious gun might beimpaired.

Still more, although it is necessary to heighten a cheek-rest part (highbend) when the aforementioned removable high rib is attached to thebarrel in order to match with the heightened rib, the high rib may notbe able to match with the customized stock that cannot be returned toits original shape as long as the high rib is removable. That is, evenif an attachment high rib having an equal performance with a lightweightgun whose barrel itself is made as a high rib is developed, thismismatch would restrain its spread.

Further, although there is one for adjusting the bend by winding aringed stock guard made of an elastic material around the stock and byinserting an intermediary material made of sponge into a part betweenthe stock guard and the upper part of the stock, it is unable to providea stable bend position and does not permit to obtain an accurate pointof impact.

Accordingly, in order to solve the aforementioned problems, the presentinvention seeks to provide a variable bend as well as a gun attachedwith the same that allows the cheek rest part (bend) to be accuratelyadjusted and to be firmly fixed to the gunstock without impairing thegunstock.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided avariable bend for used with a gun having a barrel and a stock andattached to the stock. The variable bend includes a pad base having aninterposed portion interposed between a rear-end face of the stock and ashoulder pad and a coupling portion formed at an upper end of theinterposed portion and having a coupling slid;

a bend frame having a joint portion that may be joined to an upper partof the stock and an attachment plate formed so as to rise at a centerpart of the joint portion in a width direction and having a plurality ofelongate holes; and

a cheek piece having a slit that fits with the attachment plate;

wherein the interposed portion of the pad base is fixed between therear-end face of the stock and the shoulder pad, the bend frame isattached to the stock by fitting and fixing the attachment plate intothe coupling slit of the coupling portion of the pad base and by fixingthe joint portion to the upper part of the stock, and the cheek piece isfixed to the bend frame by fitting the attachment frame of the bendframe to the slit of the cheek piece while adjusting its height by theelongate holes and screws.

According to the first aspect of the invention described above, the bendframe is firmly fixed to the stock by fixing the rear end portion of theattachment plate to the coupling portion of the pad base and by fixingthe joint portion thereof to the upper part of the stock and the cheekpiece is fixed to the bend frame by engaging its slit with theattachment plate of the bend frame while adjusting its height by theelongate holes and screws, so that the variable bend may be readilyattached to the stock. Accordingly, it becomes possible to set a cheekrest position fitting with the marksman and the gun and to modify anordinary gun as a gun having the same performance with a custom-made gunor as a gun for shooting match in particular readily at low cost.

Still more, because the pad base is fixed by being interposed betweenthe rear-end face of the stock and the shoulder pad and the jointportion of the bend frame is fixed to the upper part of the stock bymeans of adhesive or the like, the variable bend may be attached to thestock without specifically working upon the stock and may be removed,when it becomes unnecessary, to return to the original gun.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the joint portion of thebend frame has a number of cuts formed so as to extend from the outsidein a width direction toward the attachment plate and has a number ofsplit pieces split in a longitudinal direction; and

each of these split pieces is made to be plastically deformable inconformity with a shape of an upper part of the stock.

According to the second aspect of the invention described above, thejoint portion of the bend frame is formed of the split pieces, so thatit may be readily plastically deformed in conformity with the contour ofthe upper part of the stock by hands. Therefore, the joint portion maybe adhered in conformity with the contour of the upper part of the stockand the bend frame may be readily and firmly fixed to the stock by meansof the adhesive or the like.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a vertically elongate holehaving a recess is formed through the interposed portion of the pad baseso as to insert a slidable nut into the elongate hole having the recess;

a coupling portion of the pad base is fixed with the attachment plate ofthe bend frame vertically adjustably by the elongate holes and screws;and

the interposed portion of the pad base is fixed to the rear-end face ofthe stock and the sliding nut is screwed into the interposed portion soas to be able to adjust the shoulder pad in a vertical direction.

According to the third aspect of the invention described above, theinterposed portion of the pad base having the sliding nuts is fixed tothe rear-end face of the stock and the shoulder pad may be verticallymovably fixed to the stock by the sliding nuts, so that the position ofthe shoulder pad may be readily adjusted so as to fit with a body frameof the marksman, a type of the gun, position of the variable bend andothers. That is, the marksman can improve the shooting performance byadjusting the shoulder pad in conformity with position of his shoulder.

Still more, although the shoulder pad is fixed to the rear-end face ofthe stock by two wood screws in general, positions for screwing thescrews vary depending makers, countries and others. However, the slidingnut described above allows the variable bend including the shoulder padto be attached to the stock without impairing the stock and withoutcreating new holes through the shoulder pad by using the existing holesof the stock by matching with the original wood screw position of theshoulder pad. The gun may be returned to its original shape just byremoving the variable bend.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the attachment plate ofthe bend frame has a concave portion formed so as to allow a string, aband or the like to be would around together with the stock at an endthereof opposite from the coupling portion of the pad base.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention described above, thebend frame has the concave portion and the string, band or the like maybe wound around the concave portion and the stock, so that the bendframe may be temporarily joined together with the stock in adhering thejoint portion. Or, the bend frame may be fixed to the stock by solelywinding the string around them or by winding it around them inconjunction with the adhesion of the joint portion.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a gunhaving the stock attached with the variable bend described above and thebarrel attached with a removable high rib that extends along the barrelat a predetermined height.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the variable bend isremovably attached to the stock of the gun in which the removable highrib is attached to the barrel, so that the widened sight caused by thehigh rib improves the shooting performance or performance in clayshooting in particular. However, it is possible to return the gun to theoriginal ordinary gun without leaving any scar to the gun just byremoving the variable bend and the high rib.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, the high rib includes aplurality of mount sections fixed to the barrel while sandwiching a ribformed along the barrel; and

a top rib section fixed to the upper part of the mount sectionsvertically adjustably by elongate holes and screws;

wherein the plurality of mount sections is formed of a plastic materialsplit in a width direction and the top rib section is made of analuminum material; and

the respective split mount sections are fixed to the barrel whilesandwiching the rib of the barrel and the frame formed under the toprib.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention described above, the highrib has the plurality of mount sections made of plastic such asglass-reinforced polycarbonate for example and the top rib section madeof aluminum, so that the lightweight high rib may be realized whilekeeping required strength. Thus, it can remarkably reduce an inertialload during firing of the gun attached with the high rib. Still more,the vertical position of the top rib is adjustable, so that it becomespossible to adjust an aim line and a point of impact readily andaccurately while adjusting the bend by the variable bend. Thus, theinvention allows the inexpensive attachments to be attached to the gunwithout working upon the body of the gun and the same performance withan expensive custom-made gun to be acquired.

Still more, because the respective mount sections are split into twoparts, they may be mounted by sandwiching the rib of the barrel and canalso readily sandwich the frame of the top rib section. Due to theflexibility of the plastic, the high rib of the invention can sandwichthe rib of the barrel even if a width of the rib is different.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, a front edge mountsection among the plurality of mount sections has a seat member that isfixed so as to project out of the front edge mount section and that maybe grounded in placing down the gun on the ground.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention described above, theseat member that is fixed so as to project out of the front edge mountsection may be grounded in placing down the gun on the ground during ashooting standby time for example, so that it is possible to prevent agun muzzle part from being soiled or damaged.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, an upper surface of thetop rib section is matte-finished.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention described above, theupper surface of the top rib section is matte-finished by means of shotblast, sand blast and others, so that it prevents reflection in aimingat a target and improves aiming performance.

It is noted that the summary of the invention described above does notnecessarily describe all necessary features of the invention. Theinvention may also be a sub-combination of the features described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a gun in a state in which a variable bendand a high rib of the invention are disassembled;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gun to which the variable bend and thehigh rib are attached;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front and side views showing a pad base of thevariable bend;

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are front, plan and side views respectively showinga bend frame of the variable bend;

FIG. 5A is a section view taken along a line A-A in FIG. 5B showing acheek piece of the variable bend, FIGS. 5B and 5C are bottom and sideviews of the cheek piece;

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the entire high rib;

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are front, plan and side views respectively showinga front mount section of the high rib;

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are front, plan and side views respectively showinga middle mount section of the high rib;

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are front, plan and side views respectively showinga rear mount section of the high rib;

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are plan, front and enlarged side viewsrespectively showing a top rib section of the high rib; and

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D are plan, front, left side and right sideviews respectively showing a seat member.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described based on a preferred embodiment withreference to the drawings, which do not intend to limit the scope of theinvention, but exemplify the invention. All of the features and thecombinations thereof described in the embodiment are not necessarilyessential to the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a variable bend 2 and a high rib 3 thatmay be removably attached to a ready-made gun 1 are disassembled andFIG. 2 shows a gun 1′ in a state in which the variable bend 2 and thehigh rib 3 are attached therewith.

The ready-made gun (over-under) 1 has a barrel 5, a stock 6 and amachinery section not shown. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a shoulderpad 7 is detached from a rear-end face 6 a of the stock 6. The variablebend 2 is composed of a pad base 9, a bend frame 10 and a cheek piece11. The pad base 9 has an interposed portion 12 interposed and fixedbetween the rear-end face 6 a of the stock 6 and the shoulder pad 7 anda coupling portion 13 formed in a body with the interposed portion 12 atan upper end of the interposed portion 12. The bend frame 10 has a jointportion 15 that may be joined with an upper part 6 b of the stock 6 andan attachment plate 16 formed in a body with the joint portion 15. Thecheek piece 11 is vertically adjustably fixed to the attachment plate 16as described later.

The high rib 3 has a front mount section 17 a, a rear mount section 17 band three middle mount sections 17 c as well as a top rib section 19fixed across upper ends of those mount sections. The mount sections 17a, 17 b and 17 c are fixed respectively to a rib 5 a formed along thebarrel 5. A sighting device 20 (see Japanese Utility Model No. 3043520)devised by the same inventor and applicant with the present invention isattached at an end of the top rib section 19. The sighting device 20 isconstructed so as to help aiming at a moving target by looking through acolored transparent member such as an acrylic material from a rearcylindrical part. Noted that although it is preferable to attach thesighting device 20 because aiming precision improves, it is not alwaysnecessary to attach the device.

The pad base 9 is composed of the interposed portion 12 havingsubstantially the same plane shape with the rear-end face 6 a of thestock 6 (see FIG. 3B) and the coupling portion 13 that extends forward(see FIG. 3A) at the upper end part of the interposed portion 12. Theinterposed portion 12 has two upper and lower elongate holes 21 andrecesses 22 formed around the front side of these elongate holes.Sliding nuts 23 are inserted into the respective recesses 22 andelongate holes 21. The sliding nut 23 has an oval collar 23 a and acylindrical internal thread part 23 b. That is, the sliding nut 23 isformed so that it fits into the elongate hole 21 of the interposedportion 12 slidably in the vertical direction by fitting the collar 23 ainto the recess 22 and by fitting the internal thread part 23 b into theelongate hole 21.

The coupling portion 13 is formed so that upper right and left sidefaces are tapered as tapered faces 13 a and a lower face fits along theupper part of the stock as a curved surface 13 b. The coupling portion13 also has a coupling slit 13 d at a center part in a width directionfrom an upper flat face 13 c to the lower curved surface 13 b. Stillmore, the coupling portion 13 has a hole that penetrates through rightand left side faces 13 e. One side of the hole is a thread hole 13 f ₁and the other side is a stepped hole 13 f ₂ into which a head of a bolthaving a hole for a hexagonal rod spanner may be fitted.

The interposed portion 12 of the pad base 9 is fixed to the rear-endface 6 a by two-sided adhesive tapes and/or wood screws while facing therecesses 22 against the stock 6 in a state in which the sliding nuts 23are fitted into the upper and lower recessed elongate holes 21 havingthe recesses. Then, the shoulder pad 7 is fixed to the interposedportion 12 thus fixed to the stock 6 on the side thereof opposite fromthe rear-end face 6 a by screwing bolts 25 into the sliding nuts 23. Thesliding nuts 23 are vertically adjustable along the upper and lowerelongate holes 21 and recesses 22 at this time, so that the shoulder pad7 may be fixed to the stock 6 by moderately screwing the bolts 25 intothe sliding nuts 23 while adjusting their position corresponding to thebody frame, preference and habit of the marksman, to the height of thecheek piece 11 (while adjusting the variable bend) and to whether or notthere is the high rib 3. Then, the bolts 25 are fastened into the nuts23.

The shoulder pad 7 is fixed to the rear-end face 6 a of the stock 6 bytwo upper and lower wood screws in general. Accordingly, even if adistance between holes of the wood screws is different depending on theEuropean-type and American-type guns and depending on makers, the padbase 9 permits to adjust the vertical position of the shoulder pad 7 andto fix it to the stock 6 while using the conventional shoulder pad 7 asit is even for any gun regardless of the distance between the woodscrews by inserting the bolts 25 into the holes of the wood screws inthe stock in the original state (without working anything upon it)because the two upper and lower sliding nuts 23 are movable.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C show the bend frame 10. The bend frame 10 is made ofaluminum and has the joint portion 15 that extends while curving toright and left in the width direction and the attachment plate 16 thatrises at the center of the joint portion 15 in the width direction. Thejoint portion 15 has a large number of cuts 26 extending from the centerpart of the joint portion 15 to the outside in the width direction andhas a large number of split pieces 15 a arrayed in a longitudinaldirection. Because these split pieces 15 a are formed of thin pieces ofa metallic material such as aluminum, they are readily plasticallydeformed by hands along the curved contour of the upper part 6 b of thestock 6. The attachment plate 16 has a tapered face 16 a formed at anupper face of a rear part thereof, an elongate hole 27 that extends inthe vertical direction and two elongate holes 29 that extend in thevertical direction and that are formed while keeping a predetermineddistance from each other. Still more, the attachment plate 16 has arecess 30 at an upper surface of a front edge portion thereof.

The bend frame 10 is fixed to the stock 6 by plastically deforming thesplit pieces 15 a of the joint portion 15 along the curved surface ofthe upper part 6 b of the stock 6 and by joining the joint portion 15 tothe upper part 6 b by a two-sided adhesive tape or the like. Note thatit is possible to fix the bend frame 10 accurately and firmly at anadequate position of the stock 6 by temporarily attaching to the stockduring adhesion by winding and fastening a string, a band, a rubber bandor the like around the recess 30 and the stock at this time. Aftercompleting the adhesion of the joint portion, the winding member such asthe band is removed. It is also possible to use the front part of thebend frame 10 by firmly fixing the part to the stock by winding andfastening the band or the like around the recess 30 when they are notadhered by means of the two-sided adhesion tape due to reasons that thebend frame 10 is used temporarily or no trace of the adhesive is wantedon the stock.

Meanwhile, the bend frame 10 is fixed to the pad base 9 fixed to therear-end face of the stock by fitting a rear end portion of theattachment plate 16 of the bend frame 10 into the coupling slit 13 d ofthe coupling portion 13 by screwing a bolt not shown into the screw hole13 f ₁ and the stepped hole 13 f ₂ through the rear elongate hole 27 ofthe attachment plate 16. Accordingly, the bend frame 10 is fixed to thestock 6 by plastically deforming the joint portion 15 in conformity withthe curved surface of the upper part 6 b of the stock and by screwingthe bolt into the pad base 9 that is fixed to the stock. Although theremay be a slight misalignment between the elongate hole 27 of theattachment plate 16 and the pad base 9 fixed to the rear-end face of thestock depending on guns at this time, the rear elongate hole 27 isformed to have a wide width to accommodate with the misalignment. Stillmore, the joint portion 15 fits to the upper part of the stock by theplastic deformation of the split pieces 15 a, so that the bend frame 10may be firmly fixed to an appropriate position of the stock 6.

FIG. 5A is a section view taken along a line A-A in FIG. 5B showing thecheek piece 11 of the variable bend, FIGS. 5B and 5C are bottom and sideviews thereof. The cheek piece 11 is made of plastic or wood and isformed so that its cross-section is substantially semi-circular and bothside faces of a front edge thereof are tapered as tapered faces 11 a.Still more, bottom center parts of the cheek piece 11 are cut off ashollow portions 32, 33 and 35. The front edge is formed to be a solidportion 36 and a rear edge face and two middle places are formed to bebridging solid portions 37, 39 and 40 connecting the right and left sidefaces 11 c. The bridging solid portions have the slit 41 formed at thecenter part thereof and the two middle bridging solid portions 39 and 40have thread holes 39 a and 40 a and stepped holes 39 b and 40 b,respectively, formed for bolts having a hexagonal head.

The cheek piece 11 is fixed to the bend frame 10 by fitting the slit 41with the attachment plate 16 of the bend frame 10 and by moderatelyscrewing the bolts into the thread holes 39 a and 40 a and the steppedholes 39 b and 40 b while penetrating through the elongate holes 29 ofthe attachment plate 16. At this time, the elongate holes 29 permit toadjust a height and an angle in the longitudinal direction of the cheekpiece 11. Then, the cheek piece 11 is fixed to the bend frame 10 byfirmly fastening the bolts by means of a hexagonal rod spanner. Thus,the cheek piece 11 having an appropriate contour is firmly fixed to thebend frame 10 while adjusting its cheek rest position and aim line.Therefore, even if the marksman rests his cheek against the cheek piece11 with a quick action, the cheek piece 11 will not fall down ordisplaced, so that it becomes possible to shoot quickly and accuratelybecause the accurate aim line and the appropriate close contact with theshoulder pad 7 may be attained.

Next, the high rib 3 appropriately matched with the variable bend 2described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 through 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, the high rib 3 is composed of mount sections, i.e.,the front mount section 17 a, the rear mount section 17 b and the threemiddle mount sections 17 c, made of glass-reinforced polycarbonate andthe top rib section 19 made of aluminum for example. Each mount sectionis composed two mirror-symmetrical (half) pieces and the high rib 3 isfixed to the barrel 5 by sandwiching the rib 5 a (see FIG. 1) of the gunand a frame 19 b (see FIGS. 6 and 10C) of the top rib section 19 bymating those (half) pieces.

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are front, plan and side views respectively showingthe front mount section 17 a of the high rib. The front mount section 17a is composed of a lower coupling portion 42, an upper coupling portion43, front and rear column portions 45 and 46 and a middle column portion47 and has a shape in which rectangular and triangular shapes arecombined when seen from the front side as shown in FIG. 7A. The lowercoupling portion 42 is formed into a shape of a hook to form a crozecapable of sandwiching a rim of the barrel by the right and left (half)pieces. The lower coupling portion 42 and the upper coupling portion 43have seats 48 and holes 49 formed for bolts and nuts. It is noted thatFIGS. 7 through 9 show only one (half) piece of each mount section andthe other (half) piece is omitted here because they aremirror-symmetrical from each other.

As shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C, each of the three middle mount sections17 c has a triangular shape when seen from the front as shown in FIG. 8Aand has a hook-like lower coupling portion 50, front and rear columnarsections 51 and 52 and seats 48 and holes 49 for bolts and nuts in thesame manner with the front mount section 17 a described above.

The rear mount section 17 b also has a triangular shape whose hypotenuseis long when seen from the front side as shown in FIG. 9A and has ahook-like lower coupling portion 53, a rear columnar sections 55 whosegradient is small and a vertical front columnar section 56 and seats 48and holes 49 for bolts and nuts in the same manner with the front mountsection 17 a.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are plan, front and enlarged side viewsrespectively showing the top rib section 19 of the high rib 3. The toprib section 19 is formed into a shape of T as shown in FIG. 10C. A mattefinish treatment such as a shot blast finish and a sand blast finish isapplied to an upper surface U of the top rib 19 a. A plurality ofelongate holes 57 is formed through the frame 19 b. The top rib section19 is coupled with the respective mount sections 17 a, 17 b and 17 cthrough steps of interposing the frame 19 b between the upper mountsections of the respective pieces, mating the respective pieces,inserting the bolts into the respective elongate holes 57 and fasteningthe nuts.

The high rib 3 is fixed to the barrel 5 by fastening the bolts and nutswhile sandwiching the rib of the barrel by the right and left (half)pieces of the lower coupling portions 42, 50 and 53 of the respectivemount sections. At this time, the elongate holes 57 permit to adjust aheight and an angle in the longitudinal direction of the high rib 3, sothat it becomes possible to adjust a supporting point and a point ofimpact. Still more, because the respective mount sections 17 a, 17 b and17 c are made of plastic having flexibility and the respective columnarportions can sandwich the frame 19 b of the top rib section 19 and therib 5 b of the barrel with its elastic deformation, the high rib 3 maybe attached to most of guns even if a width of the rib of the barrel isdifferent.

The sighting device 20 devised by the inventor of the present inventionand described above may be attached to the front edge of the top ribsection 19 or a seat member 60 shown in FIG. 11 may be attached at thefront edge of the front mount section 17 a. FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 11Dare plan, front, left side and right side views respectively showing theseat member 11. The seat member 60 is made of plastic and has an ovalgrounding portion 61 at one end, a retaining bulging portion 62 atanother end and a thin interposed portion 63 between them. The seatmember 60 is attached to the front mount section 17 a by interposing theinterposed portion 63 of the seat member 60 between the both (half)pieces of the front columnar portion 45 of the front mount section 17 aand is retained by the bulged portion 62 and the grounding portion 61.The grounding portion 61 extends out of the barrel and supports the gunwhen the barrel is placed down during a standby time for example.

The gun 1′ (see FIG. 2) having the same performance with a custom-madegun to which a high rib and a high-bend are assembled may be obtained byattaching the variable bend 2 and the high rib 3 to the gun 1. The highrib 3 is formed of the plurality of mount sections made of plastic andthe top rib section is made of aluminum, so that its weight is light anddoes not change a balance of the gun. Still more, each mount section hasadequate elasticity, so that it can absorb an impact shock and canreduce an inertial load during firing. Further, the top rib section maybe vertically adjusted with respect to the respective mount sections, sothat it allows the supporting point and the point of impact to be finelyadjusted and allows improving the accuracy of shooting.

The variable bend 2 is positioned at the high-bend position matchingwith the high rib 3 and permits to adjust the height and aim line. Stillmore, the cheek piece 11 does not fall or is displaced even if themarksman rests his cheek quickly and roughly and always permits toassure an adequate cheek resting position fitting with the marksman.Further, the variable bend 2 may be attached to the body of the gunwithout impairing the gun and may be removed, when it is not necessary,together with the removable high rib 3 described above. That is, the gun1 may be returned to the original state as shown in FIG. 1.

Note that although it is preferable to use the variable bend togetherwith the high rib, it is not always necessary to use it together withthe high rib. For instance, the variable bend may be used for a gunattached with a scope or a gun attached with various optical sightingdevice. Still more, the variable bend may be used solely for a normalgun.

Although the invention has been described by way of the exemplaryembodiments, it should be understood that those skilled in the art mightmake many changes and substitutions without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. It is obvious from the definition of theappended claims that the embodiments with such modifications also belongto the scope of the invention.

1. A variable bend for use with a gun having a barrel and a stock, thebend being for attachment to the stock, comprising: a pad base composedof an interposed portion interposed between a rear-end face of the stockand a shoulder pad and a coupling portion formed at an upper end of theinterposed portion and having a coupling slit; a bend frame having ajoint portion that may be joined to an upper part of the stock and anattachment plate formed so as to rise at a center part of the jointportion in a width direction and having a plurality of elongate holes;and a cheek piece having a slit that fits with the attachment plate;wherein the interposed portion of the pad base is fixed between therear-end face of the stock and the shoulder pad, the bend frame isattached to the stock by fitting and fixing the attachment plate intothe coupling slit of the coupling portion of the pad base and by fixingthe joint portion to the upper part of the stock, and the cheek piece isfixed to the bend frame by fitting the attachment frame of the bendframe into the slit of the cheek piece while adjusting its height by theelongate holes and screws.
 2. The variable bend for use with the gunaccording to claim 1, wherein the joint portion of the bend frame has anumber of cuts formed so as to extend from the outside to the attachmentplate in a width direction and has a number of split pieces arrayed in alongitudinal direction; and each of these split pieces is made to beplastically deformable in conformity with a contour of the upper part ofthe stock.
 3. The variable bend for use with the gun according to claim1, wherein a vertically elongate hole having a recess is formed throughthe interposed portion of the pad base and a sliding nut is fittedslidably into the elongate hole having the recess; the coupling portionof the pad base is fixed with the attachment plate of the bend framevertically adjustably by the elongate holes and screws; and theinterposed portion of the pad base is fixed to the rear-end face of thestock and the sliding nut is screwed into the interposed portion so asto be able to adjust the shoulder pad in a vertical direction.
 4. Thevariable bend for use with the gun according to claims 1 through 3,wherein the attachment plate of the bend frame has a concave portionformed so as to allow a string, a band or the like to be would aroundtogether with the stock at an end thereof opposite from the couplingportion of the pad base.
 5. The variable bend for use with the gunaccording to claim 1, wherein the joint portion of the bend frame has anumber of cuts formed so as to extend from the outside to the attachmentplate in a width direction and has a number of split pieces arrayed in alongitudinal direction, each of these split pieces being made to beplastically deformable in conformity with the contour of the upper partof the stock; the vertically elongate hole having a recess is formedthrough the interposed portion of the pad base and a sliding nut isfitted slidably into the elongate hole having the recess; the couplingportion of the pad base is fixed with the attachment plate of the bendframe vertically adjustably by the elongate holes and screws; theinterposed portion of the pad base is fixed to the rear-end face of thestock and the sliding nut is screwed into the interposed portion so asto be able to adjust the shoulder pad in a vertical direction; and theattachment plate of the bend frame has a concave portion formed so as toallow a string, a band or the like to be would around together with thestock at an end thereof opposite from the coupling portion of the padbase.
 6. A gun having the stock attached with the variable benddescribed in claim 1 and the barrel attached with a removable high ribthat extends along the barrel at a predetermined height.
 7. A gun havingthe stock attached with the variable bend described in claim 2 and thebarrel attached with a removable high rib that extends along the barrelat a predetermined height.
 8. A gun having the stock attached with thevariable bend described in claim 3 and the barrel attached with aremovable high rib that extends along the barrel at a predeterminedheight.
 9. A gun having the stock attached with the variable benddescribed in claim 4 and the barrel attached with a removable high ribthat extends along the barrel at a predetermined height.
 10. A gunhaving the stock attached with the variable bend described in claim 5and the barrel attached with a removable high rib that extends along thebarrel at a predetermined height.
 11. The gun according to claim 6,wherein the high rib comprises a plurality of mount sections fixed tothe barrel by sandwiching a rib formed along the barrel; and a top ribsection fixed to the upper part of the mount sections verticallyadjustably by elongate holes and screws; wherein the plurality of mountsections is made of a plastic material split in a width direction andthe top rib section is made of an aluminum material so as to have across section in a shape of T; and the respective split mount sectionsare fixed to the barrel while sandwiching the rib of the barrel and theframe formed under the top rib.
 12. The gun according to claim 11,wherein a front edge mount section among the plurality of mount sectionsis provided with a seat member that is fixed so as to project out of thefront edge mount section and that may be grounded in placing down thegun on the ground.
 13. The gun according to anyone of claim 11, whereinan upper surface of the top rib section is matte-finished.